Cary-Grove scores on 1st play, runs to big win over Hampshire

CARY – Cary-Grove running back Logan Abrams has many memorable touchdown runs in his Trojans career, but none matched his first carry Saturday afternoon against Hampshire.

“Their linebackers moved one way, and our offensive line blocked it perfectly, I’ve never started a game like that,” Abrams said.

The junior took the handoff, found a lane on the left side of the line and raced 56 yards for a touchdown to give the Trojans the lead after their first play. That run began a potent rushing attack that paved the way to a 48-7 Fox Valley Conference win.

Following the opening drive, the Trojans (6-0, 6-0) used a balanced approach to the ground game with quarterback Peyton Seaburg rushing for three touchdowns, Landon Barnett finding the end zone twice, and Trae Kole rushing for a touchdown.

Seaburg capped C-G’s second possession with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Trojans a 13-0 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Barnett made the most of his opportunities with touchdown runs of 7 yards and 2 yards, stretching the lead to 27-0. Seaburg ended the quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run to make the lead 34-0 at the break.

“I feel like we executed really well today, and the offensive line was just amazing all day, they deserve a lot of credit,” Seaburg said.

Coming out of the locker room, the Trojans manufactured a 15-play drive that took 9:04 off the clock and ended with a 17-yard Seaburg touchdown run.

Seaburg ended with 62 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns. In total, the Trojans rushed for 377 yards. Holden Boone had seven carries for 90 yards, Abrams had 71 yards on three carries and Michael Massat had 11 carries for 45 yards to lead the way.

“We have really been focusing on executing the offense and each week is different based on the opponent so we make adjustments and that’s what we tell the players, that each week is another challenge,” C-G coach Brad Seaburg said.

The Trojans’ defense was equally impressive, limiting the Whip-Purs to 124 rushing yards and 77 passing yards. Mike Sorenson had two tackles for loss, Ty Drayton, Brayden Tamason and Charlie Ciske each had one tackle for loss and Michael Dunkin had a pass deflection to pace the defense.

“I love our defense. We are really good learners, we identify things we need to improve and we fix it,” Ciske said. “We try to make things uncomfortable for the opposing team, so we adjust as needed.”

Hampshire (1-5, 1-5) running back Arshawn Rupert led the Whips in rushing with 71 yards on five carries, including a a 52-yard touchdown run. Tymere Marshall had 12 carries for 44 yards. Quarterback Ryan Prowicz was 8-of-15 passing for 77 yards.

“Cary-Grove is an excellent team, and we fought and battled and our guys never quit. We will continue to work and improve this week,” Hampshire coach Shane Haak said.

https://www.shawlocal.com/friday-night-drive/2024/10/05/cary-grove-scores-on-first-play-runs-to-big-win-over-hampshire/